It seems the OP already has a property, but if that’s what you’re thinking of doing, I have to say it sounds awful risky. Buying a home is definitely not something to be rushed into with a deadline to meet. IMHO.
The document you should provide is a copy of your rental contract. A rental contract is an important legal document in France, and If you claim to be renting a property you will be expected to have one.
Hi Diana,
The New York French Consulate has the best selection of visa options - for some reason they don’t all have the same list of visas - that’s French bureaucracy for you - check out this link: http://www.consulfrance-newyork.org/-Need-a-visa-108- and scroll down to Working/Living in France. Would you qualify for the Skills and Talents Visa? You have to make an appointment at the French Consulate closest to where you live but you could print out the forms from NY and go to the SF one with them.
Also the Micro-Entrepreneur (used to be called auto-entrepreneur) self employed business option is pretty easy to figure out: http://www.lautoentrepreneur.fr/
Good luck,
Eidin
Correct, Anna! I didn’t express that well, did I:(.
Most renters want to know you can pay the rental too…Any advice on that one would be appreciated, Anna, Thanks!
Monica
“Modern art”, Edgar Ende writes in his autographical essays, “leads us to new regions, which we have consciously never entered. Art is an adventure, a step into the unknown, an encounter with demons as well as angels.”
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Thank you, Eldin. So odd that the different Consulate websites show different visa options.
Most of my income is from two tenants in California (and one in France until I move there myself) and Social Security. That income covers my nut and then I have clients who like to consult with me and I would be able to do that work remotely. I believe the Micro Entrepreneur category applies to me for that portion of my income.
I see. So I can’t “just” get a friend to write a letter. It will be interesting - since I will have a tenant in residence when I apply for the visa, I don’t know if they will (need to) know that or what.
Thanks for clarifying!
No. It has to be an ‘official’ rental agreement. If you are going to ‘stay’ with friends for a known period of time I don’t think that is acceptable. You might like to refer to the Fr. Govt. website for the particulars. I don’t have them up here right now.
Monica
“Modern art”, Edgar Ende writes in his autographical essays, “leads us to new regions, which we have consciously never entered. Art is an adventure, a step into the unknown, an encounter with demons as well as angels.”
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Hello Diana,
Yes, it’s weird that all the French Consulates don’t have the same list of visas. I read an online blog on the SF French Consulate about a guy had gone in to find out about working as an micro-autrepreneur (auto-entrepreneur - it’s better to use that title when googling as the correct French government site will come up - http://www.lautoentrepreneur.fr/ http://www.lautoentrepreneur.fr/ - other sites try to charge you) and the officer told him there was not such thing! He tried to argue but gave up! It’s a good business option - lots of expats in the town I live in run businesses through it and it’s easy as you can declare your income monthly or quarterly and the social security charges are less than a micro-bic or other - even though is does have an earning ceiling and you cannot write off stuff. You may decide to go for Micro BIC later on). Once you are a French resident you’ll declare your US gross incomes on form 2047 (foreign earned income form) - section 6 (separate them out) and then the net amount on 2042 Section 8 line 8TK. Declare your French incomes on form 2042 in the appropriate boxes according the the type of income - do not declare your foreign income anywhere else. Go online and read the Connexion newspaper (English language newspaper in France - https://www.connexionfrance.com/ https://www.connexionfrance.com/) it’s my bible - they cover everything and have lots of good information to download e.g. inheritance tax etc. They do a page by page French tax return -it’s geared towards Brits but is a good overall guideline as it explains each box. When you live in your house in France you’ll be able to write off the foncier and habitation taxes and mortgage interest on your U.S. tax return (2nd home is a write off regardless of where it is). The U.S. Foreign earned income exclusion is now $100,800 (increases annually with inflation) https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion and don’t forget to file an FBAR (foreign bank declaration listing all your foreign bank accounts with $10,000 or more in them - it’s easy to do online). I use Turbo tax and find it good for the U.S. just check that you are living in a foreign country and I do the IRS worksheets when in doubt.
Watch out when transferring money to France - use an online currency exchange - do a comparison - and not your bank as their exchange rate will be bad and they will charge you more for the transaction. Sometimes I just use my U.S. debit or visa cards as my Credit Union does not charge too much and I can earn points with my visa.
Anyway, good luck,
Éidín Hernly
Do be careful with that assumption because it’s not necessarily the case. ME is advantageous if your expenses are average or lower than average but if your expenses are higher than average it is disadvantageous. The calculations are designed so that for a business with average expenses, cotisations on ME or on régime normal would be equal. Eg if your activity is profession libérale then the break-even point is 34% expenses : 66% profit, that is deemed “average” and that’s what the calculations are based on. Obviously the simplicity of ME also has a value, but if your expenses are say 50% (for instance if you do a lot of travelling to visit clients and staying in hotels) then on micro you will only get to keep 25 per cent of your turnover so clearly it is not a sensible choice for your business.
Hi Monica
Please could you post your Full Name… we are a friendly bunch… and we like to know who is sharing the Forum with us…
My apologies Stella, I thought I had put that on the form. It asked me what name I wanted to be known by, and Monz is my nickname, so there it is! lol.
Gladly…Monica Moriyasu is my name, and thank you for having me here.
Hi Monica… thanks for the info… you’ll need to update your personal info page as well, I think…
Just did that Stella, and put my photo on as well, Thanks.
Wow, Eiden,
That’s a lot of great, detailed info.
I’m afraid there is a hitch in my giddyup with respect to taxes. Don’t know if you can offer suggestions - maybe I should post this in another section.
Deal is that I’ve been only filing taxes in USA all these years and I’ve declared the income from my French tenant there. Two years ago, the French tax people contacted me (in response to the filing of my tenant, apparently) about my rental income.
I completed what I thought was (just) a preliminary French tax form. They came back with a bill of 2000 euros per year. I was not asked for itemized expenses (which is why I thought the first form was preliminary). In effect, 2000 euros a year would give me a net zero profit on the apartment.
I’ve stopped in my tracks because I don’t know how to handle this issue (being here, not speaking French and not knowing what to do). I’m pretty darn sure I will need to resolve this before I apply for a long-term visa.
Yipes!!!
Thanks for the additional information, Anna!
This is a good example of why you have to do your research properly and understand that there are no short cuts. It really would be worth hiring the services of an accountant who understands French and US tax rules inside out as, as you have already discovered, it’s a minefield. My first reply on this thread asked if you would be liable for tax in France and the US was because, many years ago, I had an American friend who was having to pay taxes in both Holland and the US and I was wondering if anything had changed. If a citizen of an European country had paid tax in the wrong country and the correct country then demanded the back taxes they would have to pay the taxes then reclaim those paid in the first place. Perhaps you have that option. A little PS is that language is imperative. France is not an English speaking country and a working knowledge of French is a basic requirement.
David,
Yes, fools rush in.
That being said, this is now and here I am!
Without knowing what you put on the form, it could be a misunderstanding, but it could also be the fisc’s way of persuading you to cough up full information. One of the strategies they use if they feel that someone has not disclosed the full facts, is to send out a whacking great tax bill because that gives you 2 options. Either you can challenge it, and in order to challenge it you have to provide full information and supporting documents, which is what they want. Once they have all the info and are satisfied with it, they will recalculate your bill. The second option is that you pay up without a murmur, and if you do that there’s a good chance they’ll become even more suspicious (because who would pay tax they don’t owe without disputing it) and proceed to start a full investigation, which could be unpleasant;
It’s not a good idea to bury your head in the sand and do nothing, because it is the fisc’s job to pursue debts. Late payment penalties are added automatically and it’s eyewatering how fast the debt grows, you can end up owing double the original figure. As a last resort they can freeze your bank account and/or register the debt against property that you own, eg house or car. France’s administration is very joined up, as you’ve discovered to your cost. You could either go and talk to the tax office yourself, you’ll find that usually the staff at the counter are friendly and helpful and you would think Rouen could come up with an English speaker although AFAIK it doesn’t particularly have a lot of English residents, or as David says get yourself an accountant. I would also echo David’s PS about the language, although in fact if you do successfully apply for a visa then I believe you will be obliged to take French classes and reach a certain standard as part of OFII’s integration requirements for your carte de séjour.
Good luck with it all, and bear in mind that the French tax office and the immigration people are two authorities that you cannot take liberties with because their their powers are very far reaching, they have the full might of the French state and legal system behind them.
Is this the appropriate forum for such an in depth discussion about a specific individual’s personal taxation and residency issues? Just asking as , for me, this post is excruciating.